Real Betis’ Manuel Pellegrini agrees with Enzo Maresca on rest, says Chelsea are ‘no Goliath’

Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini has rejected the idea that his side are heavy underdogs in the Conference League final with Chelsea on Wednesday night. The Chilean coach, in his first ever major European final, also agreed with his counterpart Enzo Maresca that the Blues were at a disadvantage.

Ahead of the match, Maresca had complained about the fact that Betis would be working with two more days of rest, having played their final La Liga game at home against Valencia on Friday. Chelsea meanwhile went away to Nottingham Forest to win, and in the process secure Champions League qualification on Sunday. Pellegrini agreed that it gave his side an edge.

“I read what Enzo said and I completely agree with him. In football, you can’t give your opponent any kind of advantage. They had a tough game on Sunday to get into the Champions League and they did; I’m very happy for him, but it’s no excuse, because they’re used to playing every three days. I’m convinced they’re going to be a very tough opponent, at their usual high level.”

Maresca and Pellegrini worked together previously at West Ham United, and the Betis manager confirmed that relations between the two remained good.

“I sent him a very brief text message when we started the league phase telling him we’d see each other in the final, and when we both arrived, I called him to tell him I was very happy about this game. I congratulated him on Sunday. I don’t know what he’s learned from me, but when we worked together at West Ham, we talked a lot about football; we know how we both think.”

Pellegrini gave little away about his gameplan, but did note that Betis would be loyal to their identity under him.

“The most important thing to win is to be the same team we’ve always been, which is what has allowed us to get this far, to qualify for Europe for the fifth time in a row and to fight for the Champions League until almost the end. You have to know how to manage the emotional aspect and not make mistakes due to an excess of motivation.”

Both Isco and Marc Bartra had highlighted the fact that Chelsea had a significant financial advantage over Betis, but Pellegrini did not feel that this made Betis underdogs.

“It would be very easy for me to say that Chelsea are the favourites because they have more money than us, but I don’t agree. Both teams have exactly the same chances of winning. It depends on the performance of the players on the pitch. We also have some very experienced players, two of them sitting here next to me. We have to go out there convinced to do our bit and go for the game. We don’t think they’re Goliaths. We’re going to try to win from the first minute. After the 90th, we’ll see who’s capable of doing it.”

One of the stories of the season has been the revival of Manchester United loanee Antony, who arrived on loan in January. He has been a crucial part of Betis’ reaction in the second half of the season, scoring twice and assisting in the semi-final against Fiorentina.

“He has the potential to be the leader of this great final. I spoke to him, and he told us he wasn’t happy because he wasn’t playing; he had a lot of complaints about it. He wanted to show who he was. It’s not easy to pay €100m for someone, so it’s clear he’s a great player. Betis is a club where he can continue to improve in his career.”

Pellegrini gave little away about his line-up, saying he had ’11 doubts’ ahead of the final. January signing Cucho Hernandez and William Carvalho are not registered for the final, while central defender Diego Llorente remains injured and out of the final, and he will remain in the stands with Hector Bellerin. The good news for Betis is that Giovani Lo Celso is likely to make it. There is also uncertainty over whether back-up goalkeeper Fran Vieites will continue in goal in Europe, or Adrian Sanchez will return.